WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.540 If you would turn with me in a Bible to Mark chapter 1, we'll be looking at that at the 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:17.320 end of that chapter tonight. 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:23.400 If you're looking in one of the few Bibles, it is on page 837. 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:35.479 We're looking at Mark chapter 1, starting at verse 40 and going to the end of the chapter. 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:43.019 It says this, 00:00:44.019 --> 00:00:52.599 And a leper came to him, came to Jesus, imploring him and kneeling, said to him, 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.159 If you will, you can make me clean. 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:03.359 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, 00:01:04.039 --> 00:01:05.900 I will be clean. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.379 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:15.299 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:19.299 See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priests, 00:01:19.299 --> 00:01:24.140 and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them. 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:32.439 But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:37.439 openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:41.539 And people were coming to him from every quarter. 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:46.360 A few years ago, the New York Times published an article by a doctor 00:01:46.360 --> 00:01:50.120 who works in an intensive care unit at a hospital. 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:53.400 And he began the article by telling this story. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:54.780 He says, 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:59.840 It was one night when I was on call, I visited a patient who had been in the ICU for nine days, 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:03.640 recovering from a procedure to remove a major blood clot. 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:10.240 She was doing well, breathing on her own, with normal blood pressure and regular heartbeat. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:12.719 After a moment, she opened her eyes. 00:02:13.420 --> 00:02:14.740 Welcome, doctor, she said. 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:17.379 Would you like me to make you a drink? 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.860 You know where everything is, she said, and make me one as well. 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:24.660 Well, I asked her where she was. 00:02:25.720 --> 00:02:27.280 In my apartment, she said. 00:02:28.660 --> 00:02:32.700 I walked up to her IV pole and squeezed the bag of saline that hung next to her bed. 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:34.680 She thanked me and went off to sleep. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:40.880 The article went on to say about a third of patients who spend more than five days in an ICU 00:02:40.880 --> 00:02:44.280 experience some form of psychotic reaction. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.920 Even if they've never had any psychiatric problems before, 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:55.119 patients may experience anxiety, become paranoid, hear voices and see things that are not there, 00:02:55.659 --> 00:02:59.279 become disoriented, agitated, or even violent. 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:02.959 Now, of course, doctors want to know why this happens. 00:03:03.859 --> 00:03:11.899 Why does being in a hospital seem to create new problems, even as it solves other problems? 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:15.200 Is it a response to physical pain? 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:21.540 Or is it sleep deprivation from the nurses waking you up every hour during the night? 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:26.659 Or is it that you feel like you're no longer in control of your life? 00:03:27.879 --> 00:03:32.800 Well, all those things could play a role, but one of the major realities of being in a hospital, 00:03:32.920 --> 00:03:36.860 especially being in an ICU, is being isolated. 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:43.760 Being isolated from normal routines and from normal interactions with family and friends, 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:45.800 neighbors, and co-workers. 00:03:46.920 --> 00:03:52.500 Now, being in the ICU is maybe an extreme example, but sickness of whatever kind, 00:03:53.160 --> 00:03:57.960 whether physical or mental, can be an incredibly isolating experience. 00:03:58.980 --> 00:04:01.740 And isolation can drive you crazy. 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:07.260 Now, of course, in some circumstances, isolation is the only way that we know of 00:04:07.260 --> 00:04:11.500 that we can deal with sickness and prevent it from spreading. 00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:13.159 Right? 00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:17.840 At a minor level, that's why my son's preschool sends home a big note that says, 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:25.160 if your child has a fever, or has had a fever in the last 24 hours, or has vomited, 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.439 you better not send him to school. 00:04:28.900 --> 00:04:29.340 Right? 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:29.379 Right? 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:33.639 And every school and every daycare center has strict rules about that, 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:38.199 because they don't want diseases to spread, or more serious cases. 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:44.319 If you visit certain people in the hospital, you might have to wear a gown, 00:04:44.479 --> 00:04:46.659 or even put on a mask, or put on gloves, 00:04:46.659 --> 00:04:51.739 so they don't get what you have, and you don't get what they have. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.479 Or for better and for worse, this is why we have psychiatric hospitals, 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:02.759 or institutions to keep people from harming themselves or harming others. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:04.040 Right? 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.680 Normally, sickness is contagious. 00:05:07.780 --> 00:05:08.740 Health isn't. 00:05:09.640 --> 00:05:12.060 And so we protect against the spread of sickness, 00:05:12.700 --> 00:05:15.640 partly by isolating sick people. 00:05:16.780 --> 00:05:21.259 Now, in this passage, we see a very sick man, a leper, 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:25.039 a man with a dreaded skin disease. 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:29.439 Now, back then, the word leprosy covered a wide range of skin diseases, 00:05:30.099 --> 00:05:35.039 including boils, burns, itches, ringworm, and scalp conditions, 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.500 as well as what's now called Hansen's disease, 00:05:37.659 --> 00:05:41.120 leprosy that makes you lose feeling in your skin, 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:43.120 and your nerves, and your limbs, and eyes. 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:45.519 It was a horrible disease. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.419 And back then, leprosy was nearly incurable. 00:05:50.539 --> 00:05:53.839 It was a common saying among Jewish rabbis that curing a leper 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:58.959 was as difficult as raising a dead man to life. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:04.139 And in order to prevent the dreaded disease from spreading, 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:07.859 lepers were required to be isolated from the rest of the community. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.779 So Leviticus 13 and 14 give a whole bunch of rules, 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:16.199 but the end of Leviticus 13, starting at verse 45, says this, 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.159 the leprous person who has the disease 00:06:19.159 --> 00:06:21.159 shall wear torn clothes 00:06:21.159 --> 00:06:23.659 and let the hair of his head hang loose, 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:26.299 and he shall cover the lower part of his face 00:06:26.299 --> 00:06:29.599 and cry out, unclean, unclean. 00:06:30.359 --> 00:06:33.679 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:34.819 He is unclean. 00:06:35.379 --> 00:06:36.419 He shall live alone. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:40.319 His dwelling shall be outside the camp. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:42.459 Did you hear those words? 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:43.099 Four times. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:46.779 Unclean, unclean, unclean, unclean. 00:06:47.159 --> 00:06:48.980 He shall live alone outside. 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.079 You see, being a leper didn't just make you sick, 00:06:53.180 --> 00:06:57.159 it made you unclean and alone and isolated. 00:06:57.579 --> 00:06:59.000 You were cut off from your family, 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.420 from your job, from your friends and your neighbors. 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:04.879 You couldn't touch anyone else 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:06.860 or even come close to them 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:09.920 because otherwise you would make them unclean. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:13.680 So the only family, the only friends, 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:15.879 the only neighbors that you really had 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.360 were other people who had the same disease. 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:22.540 Other unclean lepers. 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.399 And you couldn't go into a city. 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:29.719 You couldn't go into any city with walls. 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:34.100 And so you had to live out in the unprotected countryside. 00:07:34.100 --> 00:07:38.480 You could only attend the worship services in the synagogue 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:43.060 if they had a screen and a separate seating area 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:45.280 to separate you from everyone else. 00:07:46.100 --> 00:07:49.100 It was an incredibly isolating experience. 00:07:50.260 --> 00:07:56.000 It was a little bit like having AIDS in the 1970s or 1980s 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.280 when it was just beginning to spread 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.719 and before antiviral drugs were available. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:03.679 Or maybe a parallel today would be 00:08:03.679 --> 00:08:07.339 being homeless and sleeping on a bench on the green. 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:09.959 Or even under a bridge 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:11.559 and getting up in the morning 00:08:11.559 --> 00:08:14.039 and pushing a shopping cart down the street 00:08:14.039 --> 00:08:17.379 and hunting in other people's trash cans 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:19.099 for bottles and cans. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:22.100 And everybody steps carefully around you 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:24.400 because they don't want to touch you. 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:27.420 Because in their eyes, you're dirty. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:29.980 And you would make them unclean. 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:33.480 That's a little bit of what it was like 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:34.840 to be a leper. 00:08:36.060 --> 00:08:37.220 To be unclean. 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.259 Now the leper in this story, he's a desperate man. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.800 And so because he's desperate, he takes a risk. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:46.580 He approaches Jesus. 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:49.620 And he pleads for help. 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:51.320 Now according to the law, 00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:55.780 he wasn't supposed to come close to anyone else. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:59.820 So he's taking a risk in even coming close to Jesus 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:01.480 and kneeling before him. 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:06.600 And he says, if you will, you can make me clean. 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:10.660 The leper sees something different in Jesus 00:09:10.660 --> 00:09:13.820 that draws him to come close. 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:18.040 And in this passage, we see two extraordinary things 00:09:18.040 --> 00:09:19.340 about Jesus. 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:23.300 We see Jesus' extraordinary authority 00:09:23.300 --> 00:09:26.460 and we see Jesus' extraordinary compassion. 00:09:29.060 --> 00:09:31.600 So first, Jesus' extraordinary authority. 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:33.620 Verses 41 and 42, it says, 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.879 Jesus was moved with pity or moved with compassion. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:39.379 And he stretched out his hand and touched him 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:40.460 and said to him, 00:09:40.939 --> 00:09:42.539 I will be clean. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:44.860 And immediately the leprosy left him 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:46.519 and he was made clean. 00:09:47.659 --> 00:09:50.159 Now do you notice Jesus deliberately stretched out his hand 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.879 and touched the man with leprosy? 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:55.860 According to the law, 00:09:56.860 --> 00:09:59.159 if you touched an unclean person, 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.120 that made you unclean. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.080 And if you became unclean, 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.399 you had to go through a whole process 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:06.659 of ritual cleansing, 00:10:07.560 --> 00:10:10.460 of separating yourself from other people 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:13.560 and then bathing and going through this whole process 00:10:13.560 --> 00:10:15.779 in order for you to become clean again. 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:19.320 Because again, just like today, 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:24.440 normally sickness and uncleanness spreads. 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:26.259 Health doesn't. 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:27.519 Right? 00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:29.379 If you're unclean, you're contagious. 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:31.559 You might make somebody else unclean. 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:32.500 If you're healthy, 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.860 you're not going to make somebody else healthy 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:35.960 just by touching them. 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:40.580 But here, the effect is reversed. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:43.179 When Jesus touches the leper, 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:45.019 instead of Jesus becoming unclean, 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:46.799 the leper becomes clean. 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:49.639 And if you were here last week, 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:51.939 we saw in this passage 00:10:51.939 --> 00:10:54.919 that Jesus has this extraordinary authority, 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.620 this unequal power, 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:00.919 so that his touch overrides 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:04.440 and overrules this horrible skin disease. 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:07.440 And his will trumps 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:10.080 the Old Testament ceremonial law. 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.379 That Jesus has this amazing authority. 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.139 Now, according to the Old Testament, 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:21.340 the priests who served in the temple 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:24.299 had the responsibility to examine people 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:25.699 with skin disease 00:11:25.699 --> 00:11:28.620 and pronounce them either clean or unclean. 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:29.879 They were a little bit like the doctors 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:31.079 in those days. 00:11:31.939 --> 00:11:32.419 But you know, 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.959 Jesus doesn't merely act like a doctor here. 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:36.519 Jesus doesn't say, 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:37.299 hey, come here, 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:38.299 let me examine you. 00:11:38.699 --> 00:11:40.599 Hmm, do I see any white spots? 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:42.979 No, I don't see any white spots. 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:43.859 Ah, you're okay. 00:11:45.699 --> 00:11:46.079 No. 00:11:46.719 --> 00:11:49.240 Jesus doesn't just pronounce him clean. 00:11:49.359 --> 00:11:51.219 Jesus touches him and makes him clean. 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:52.920 He does what the priests could never do. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:56.300 And that's why he says 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:58.420 what he says in verse 43 and 44. 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:01.080 Now, maybe that was a little confusing 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:02.200 when we first read it. 00:12:02.540 --> 00:12:02.960 You might think, 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:04.060 well, why does Jesus say, 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:06.379 don't tell nothing to nobody? 00:12:07.160 --> 00:12:08.820 It's actually a double negative in the Greek, 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:10.399 so you can translate it however you want. 00:12:11.160 --> 00:12:11.779 The point is, 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:12.680 he says, 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:14.440 don't say anything to anyone. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:16.480 I say, 00:12:16.540 --> 00:12:18.120 well, why would Jesus want him 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:19.740 to keep it to himself? 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:21.740 Well, 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:24.519 the main reason is what he continues, 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:26.019 what he says in the rest of the verse. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:26.580 Go, 00:12:26.920 --> 00:12:28.180 show yourself to the priest. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:29.700 Right? 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:31.240 You had to, 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:33.000 you had to get a clean bill of health 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:33.800 from the priest 00:12:33.800 --> 00:12:35.080 so you could 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:36.759 be declared clean 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:37.980 and interact normally 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:39.200 with other people again 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.340 without making them unclean. 00:12:41.920 --> 00:12:43.000 And as part of the process, 00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:44.120 you'd offer a sacrifice 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:45.160 to thank God 00:12:45.160 --> 00:12:46.279 for making you well 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:47.800 if somehow you recovered 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:49.240 from one of these skin diseases. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:51.060 So basically, 00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:51.779 Jesus is saying, 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:53.240 I want you to go through 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:55.480 the official legal channels 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:58.419 so that you can be publicly declared clean 00:12:58.419 --> 00:13:01.480 and restored to your place in society. 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:04.379 But he also says, 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:05.720 at the end of verse 44, 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:06.039 he says, 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:07.759 do this for a proof to them. 00:13:08.779 --> 00:13:09.840 It's a legal word, 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:11.680 proof or testimony. 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:12.980 In other words, 00:13:13.019 --> 00:13:14.700 to demonstrate Jesus' authority 00:13:14.700 --> 00:13:16.300 authority to the priests 00:13:16.300 --> 00:13:17.360 and the religious leaders 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:17.940 of the day 00:13:17.940 --> 00:13:19.680 so they could see 00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:20.360 that this man 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:21.280 was living proof 00:13:21.280 --> 00:13:22.440 that Jesus could do 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.140 what nobody else could. 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:26.740 So he says, 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:27.620 go to the priests 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:29.320 so they can see 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:30.420 that I've done for you 00:13:30.420 --> 00:13:32.340 what nobody else can. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.000 So they can examine you themselves 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:37.040 and they can have living proof 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:37.860 right in front of them 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:39.540 that I can do 00:13:39.540 --> 00:13:40.320 what nobody else can. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:42.640 So that's the first thing we see, 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:44.679 Jesus' extraordinary authority 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.179 to cleanse this man 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:49.840 where nobody else could. 00:13:51.199 --> 00:13:53.199 But we also see a second thing. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:55.039 We see Jesus' extraordinary compassion. 00:13:56.939 --> 00:13:58.299 He not only cleanses the leper 00:13:58.299 --> 00:13:59.759 where nobody else could, 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:01.980 he cleanses the leper 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:03.679 in a way that nobody else would. 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:06.439 Now verse 41, 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:08.819 it says Jesus was moved with pity. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:11.620 Now when we hear that word pity, 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:13.340 sometimes we think something like this. 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:16.100 We think of maybe watching on the news 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.639 or hearing a really sad story 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.779 or looking down at somebody else 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:21.200 and thinking, 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:21.820 and we say, 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.120 oh, that's so sad. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.440 We make a sad face 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:30.299 and maybe we just say sad things 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:31.100 for a few minutes. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:32.659 And then we get distracted 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:34.519 and then we go on with our life 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.259 and we don't really do anything different. 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:37.659 And we think, 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:38.440 oh, I felt pity. 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.960 I felt so bad for that awful thing that happened. 00:14:44.280 --> 00:14:45.820 Well, that's actually not 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:50.280 what true pity or compassion is in the Bible. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:52.640 The English word compassion 00:14:52.640 --> 00:14:54.540 is from a Latin word 00:14:54.540 --> 00:14:56.880 that means to suffer with someone. 00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:00.240 And the Greek word in this passage 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:01.080 refers to the, 00:15:01.180 --> 00:15:02.440 it's a word that refers to 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:04.460 the inner parts of a person. 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:07.240 Literally the inner parts of your chest, 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:07.759 your gut, 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:09.160 your heart, 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:10.139 your lungs. 00:15:11.160 --> 00:15:11.660 In other words, 00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:12.440 compassion 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:14.759 is this deep feeling of mercy 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:17.360 towards somebody else 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.480 from deep inside you. 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:21.700 But it's not just a feeling, 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:22.879 it's a feeling 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:24.820 that results in action. 00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:28.560 You see, 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:30.040 that's why Jesus touches the man. 00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:32.340 He doesn't just feel pity for the man 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:32.700 and think, 00:15:32.800 --> 00:15:33.280 oh, what a, 00:15:33.280 --> 00:15:34.640 what a sad story. 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:38.480 But he reaches out and touches him. 00:15:40.300 --> 00:15:40.520 Now, 00:15:40.780 --> 00:15:42.480 Jesus didn't have to touch him 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.720 in order to make him well. 00:15:46.560 --> 00:15:47.920 There's a story in the Old Testament, 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:49.520 probably the most famous story 00:15:49.520 --> 00:15:50.700 in the Old Testament 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:52.320 of a leper being cleansed 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:54.440 is found in 2 Kings chapter 5. 00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:56.680 And Naaman, 00:15:57.020 --> 00:15:58.200 who is a commander, 00:15:58.379 --> 00:15:59.960 who is an army commander in Syria, 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:02.480 goes to the prophet Elisha in Israel 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:05.280 and asks to be cleansed of his leprosy. 00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:06.580 And Elisha 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:08.360 doesn't even come out of his house. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:10.540 He sends a messenger 00:16:10.540 --> 00:16:11.879 to say, 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:12.200 Naaman, 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:14.620 go dunk yourself in the river 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:16.020 seven times. 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:18.800 Naaman doesn't like that idea, 00:16:19.680 --> 00:16:20.440 but eventually he 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:22.500 is persuaded by somebody else 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:23.879 that he should 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:24.879 at least try, 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:25.840 you know, 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:27.240 at least do what the prophet says. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:28.259 So he does it, 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:29.220 and by the grace of God, 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:30.039 he gets cleansed. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:34.340 But Elisha never touched him. 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:37.220 Jesus didn't have to touch him. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:38.279 Actually, 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:39.580 in Luke chapter 17, 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.059 there's ten other lepers 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:42.919 that Jesus cleanses, 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:43.919 and he doesn't touch them at all. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.139 So why does he touch him? 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:49.639 Think about it. 00:16:49.819 --> 00:16:50.659 If you were that leper, 00:16:51.980 --> 00:16:53.740 for as long as you've had leprosy, 00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:56.299 nobody else has touched you. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:59.720 Because nobody else wants to touch you 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:01.399 because they'll become unclean. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:03.019 And the only other people 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:04.420 who might have touched you 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:05.720 were other people 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:06.759 who had the same disease. 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:13.140 And Jesus touched him 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:18.480 to make a personal connection with him. 00:17:19.379 --> 00:17:20.480 That it wasn't just 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:22.980 blessings from a distance, 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:25.619 but it was blessings through 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:28.440 a touch. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:29.180 But you know what? 00:17:29.379 --> 00:17:30.359 There was a cost 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:31.660 to Jesus touching him. 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:34.279 And we don't, 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:35.000 you know, 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:35.779 you might not see this 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:36.819 when you first read the passage, 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:38.539 but look down at verse 44 and 45. 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:41.200 Verse 44, 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:42.079 Jesus tells the leper, 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:42.720 keep quiet 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:44.700 and go right to the priest. 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:47.119 But in verse 45, 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:47.960 the leper goes around 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:49.240 broadcasting the news. 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:52.960 He's talking freely, 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:53.460 or literally, 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:54.420 the word is preaching. 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:55.279 It's the same word 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:56.859 that's used for Jesus, 00:17:57.019 --> 00:17:57.740 preaching his message. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:17:58.440 The leper goes around 00:17:58.440 --> 00:17:59.359 preaching about it. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:01.099 Telling everybody. 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:03.319 And we have no idea 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:04.720 if he ever went to the priest or not. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.660 And then it says, 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:07.440 as a result, 00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:09.740 Jesus could no longer 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:10.859 openly enter a town, 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:12.759 but was out 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:14.539 in desolate places. 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:17.000 At the beginning of this story, 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:18.079 the leper 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.359 is on the outside. 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:22.079 He can't enter a town. 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.019 He can't touch anyone. 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:26.579 He can't participate 00:18:26.579 --> 00:18:27.740 normally in society. 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.700 He's on the outside, 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.000 and he's unclean. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.640 And Jesus is on the inside. 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:37.359 But at the end of the story, 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:38.960 it's reversed. 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:42.700 The leper's on the inside. 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:44.420 He's going everywhere. 00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:45.640 He's clean. 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:46.920 He can touch anyone. 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:49.519 He's healed. 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:52.759 But Jesus is on the outside. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:56.059 He can't enter a city. 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:57.879 He's in desolate places. 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:00.659 You see, 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:01.980 this whole story, 00:19:02.679 --> 00:19:04.119 it's a little story 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:04.859 right at the beginning 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:05.599 of Mark's gospel, 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:06.379 but it's a picture 00:19:06.379 --> 00:19:07.839 of the whole purpose 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:09.559 why Jesus came to the world. 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:11.079 The whole purpose 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:12.179 of his life and ministry 00:19:12.179 --> 00:19:15.119 is about 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.619 his extraordinary authority 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:18.019 to do what nobody else could 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:20.539 and his extraordinary compassion 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:22.500 to do what nobody else would. 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.660 And of course, 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:25.519 where does that all lead? 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:26.299 Jesus in the end, 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:27.259 it ultimately leads him 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:28.539 to die on a cross 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:31.500 outside the city walls, 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:32.940 rejected 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:34.240 and alone 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:36.279 and unclean. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:40.599 So that we, 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:42.079 like the leper, 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:43.880 might be cleansed 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.299 and accepted 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:46.920 and received 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:47.940 on the inside 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:49.500 of God's family 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:50.940 now 00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:51.819 and forever. 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:56.559 that's what Jesus 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:57.140 came to do. 00:19:59.140 --> 00:19:59.880 He came 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:01.339 to demonstrate 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:02.000 his authority 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.079 and he came 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:03.680 to touch us 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.500 with his compassion 00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:06.480 at a great cost 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.039 to himself 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.559 so that we could be 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:10.519 cleansed 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:11.420 and received. 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:14.319 Now, 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:14.980 what do we take away 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:15.720 from this passage? 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:17.920 Let me give you 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:18.680 two categories 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:19.839 of applications. 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:21.339 Maybe we can talk 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:21.700 about these 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:22.200 a little more 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:23.100 when we have 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:23.460 our question 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:24.080 and answer time 00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:25.200 in a few minutes. 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:27.340 Maybe you can identify 00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:28.700 first, 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:29.559 maybe you can identify 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:30.220 with this leper. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:32.259 Now, 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:32.759 maybe you have 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:33.259 an illness, 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:34.720 whether it's 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:35.559 a physical illness 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:36.700 or emotional 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:37.539 or some other 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:38.220 kind of illness 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:39.340 and because of 00:20:39.340 --> 00:20:39.759 your illness, 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:40.259 you've lived 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:40.819 for years 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:41.580 in isolation 00:20:41.580 --> 00:20:43.720 and you've always 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.799 felt excluded 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:46.559 on the outside. 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:48.080 Maybe you've 00:20:48.080 --> 00:20:48.660 looked everywhere 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:49.340 for a cure 00:20:49.340 --> 00:20:51.360 and found none 00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:52.779 or maybe you've 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:53.300 given up 00:20:53.300 --> 00:20:55.860 and you just 00:20:55.860 --> 00:20:56.960 hang your head. 00:20:57.860 --> 00:20:58.620 Or maybe it's not 00:20:58.620 --> 00:20:59.320 a physical illness, 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.040 maybe you feel 00:21:00.040 --> 00:21:01.120 dirty on the inside 00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:01.920 because of shameful 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:03.540 things that other 00:21:03.540 --> 00:21:04.200 people have done 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:05.180 to you in the past 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:07.040 and you feel like 00:21:07.040 --> 00:21:07.880 damaged goods, 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:09.740 too broken 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.200 to ever be useful 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.960 again. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:15.380 or maybe you feel 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:16.700 dirty because of 00:21:16.700 --> 00:21:17.600 shameful things 00:21:17.600 --> 00:21:18.640 that you've done 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:20.720 to yourself 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.380 or to other people. 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:23.980 And even if nobody 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:24.840 else knows the whole 00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:25.299 story, 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:27.440 you know that on the 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.420 inside you're a mess 00:21:28.420 --> 00:21:30.660 and you deal with 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:31.200 the shame 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:32.220 and guilt 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:33.660 of your own 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:34.840 failure before God 00:21:34.840 --> 00:21:36.440 in the past 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:37.500 and even 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:38.340 daily 00:21:38.340 --> 00:21:39.299 in the present. 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:42.599 If any of those 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:43.220 describe you, 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:44.220 let me invite you. 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:45.759 Come before 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.480 Jesus 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.720 like the leper 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:48.000 did. 00:21:49.399 --> 00:21:50.419 He came to Jesus. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:50.759 He said, 00:21:50.859 --> 00:21:51.119 Jesus, 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:53.000 if you will, 00:21:54.399 --> 00:21:55.180 you can make me 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:55.460 clean. 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:58.599 Jesus has the power 00:21:58.599 --> 00:21:59.480 to make you clean 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:00.899 like nobody else 00:22:00.899 --> 00:22:01.159 can. 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:03.059 And Jesus 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:03.859 did 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:05.319 what was required 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:06.639 to make you 00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:06.980 clean 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:08.000 like nobody else 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.240 would. 00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:10.379 You know, 00:22:10.419 --> 00:22:10.919 one of the biggest 00:22:10.919 --> 00:22:11.839 lies in the world 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:13.319 is that you have 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:14.059 to clean yourself 00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:14.419 up 00:22:14.419 --> 00:22:16.259 before you come 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:16.700 to God, 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:18.359 before you come 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:18.859 to church. 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:20.359 And the truth 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:21.139 is exactly the 00:22:21.139 --> 00:22:21.500 opposite. 00:22:21.659 --> 00:22:22.220 You need to come 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:22.740 to Jesus 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:24.220 so that He 00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:24.859 can clean you 00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:25.139 up. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:27.440 And you'll find 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:28.079 Jesus here 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.779 in the church. 00:22:29.460 --> 00:22:30.019 Not in this 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:30.379 building, 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:32.359 but when believers 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:33.220 gather together. 00:22:34.379 --> 00:22:35.139 Jesus is present 00:22:35.139 --> 00:22:36.240 here with us 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.440 to cleanse us 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.159 and heal us. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:39.420 And you know, 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:40.060 in reality, 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:41.320 every single 00:22:41.320 --> 00:22:42.400 one of us 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.580 is like this 00:22:44.580 --> 00:22:44.900 leper 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:46.860 before God. 00:22:50.460 --> 00:22:51.220 Before God, 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:51.840 we're all 00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:52.920 unclean. 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:54.259 In the Bible, 00:22:54.360 --> 00:22:54.580 it says, 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:55.259 all our righteous 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:56.800 deeds are like 00:22:56.800 --> 00:22:57.779 filthy, 00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.019 blood-stained 00:22:59.019 --> 00:22:59.800 rags. 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:03.180 So what's the 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:03.480 church? 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:05.700 The church is a 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:06.059 bunch of 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:06.579 desperate 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:07.799 lepers 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:09.460 who found 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:09.899 cleansing 00:23:09.899 --> 00:23:10.839 in Jesus. 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:13.339 So whoever 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:13.960 you are, 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:15.559 whatever you 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:16.079 look like on 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:16.539 the outside, 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:17.039 and whatever 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:17.639 you feel on 00:23:17.639 --> 00:23:18.079 the inside, 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:18.559 you're not 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.299 any different 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:20.639 from all the 00:23:20.639 --> 00:23:21.359 rest of us 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:24.259 when we stand 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:24.879 before God. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:28.200 to all of 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:28.500 us. 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:30.240 Jesus invites 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:30.700 all of us 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:31.200 to come 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.480 to Him 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.160 as you 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:33.460 are. 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:36.440 Maybe 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:37.200 come to 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:37.440 Him for 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:37.760 the first 00:23:37.760 --> 00:23:38.100 time. 00:23:39.520 --> 00:23:39.920 Or maybe 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:40.280 come to 00:23:40.280 --> 00:23:40.680 Him for 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:41.140 a renewed 00:23:41.140 --> 00:23:42.320 experience 00:23:42.320 --> 00:23:43.320 of His 00:23:43.320 --> 00:23:43.740 mercy 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:44.800 and His 00:23:44.800 --> 00:23:45.140 cleansing. 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:47.740 So that's 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:48.020 the first 00:23:48.020 --> 00:23:48.220 thing. 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:49.040 Maybe you 00:23:49.040 --> 00:23:49.580 identify with 00:23:49.580 --> 00:23:49.920 the leper. 00:23:50.800 --> 00:23:51.240 We all 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:51.800 identify with 00:23:51.800 --> 00:23:52.060 the leper. 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:52.360 Maybe, 00:23:52.520 --> 00:23:53.120 second thing, 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:53.800 maybe you 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:54.280 identify 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:55.160 as a 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:55.680 follower of 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:55.920 Jesus, 00:23:56.099 --> 00:23:56.379 as a 00:23:56.379 --> 00:23:56.940 disciple of 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:57.220 Jesus. 00:23:58.519 --> 00:23:58.839 As we've 00:23:58.839 --> 00:23:58.940 said, 00:23:59.000 --> 00:23:59.420 the church 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.079 is a 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:00.420 community 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:00.980 of people 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:01.639 like this 00:24:01.639 --> 00:24:02.000 leper, 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:03.680 who are 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:04.160 spiritually 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.059 unclean, 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:07.639 and excluded 00:24:07.639 --> 00:24:08.319 from God's 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:08.579 family, 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:08.799 who have 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:09.519 been brought 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.119 in by the 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:11.799 authority and 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:12.420 compassion of 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:13.099 Jesus Christ. 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:15.460 But you 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:15.559 know, 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:16.059 we're also 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:16.579 called to be 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:17.119 a community 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:18.440 that extends 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:18.740 Jesus' 00:24:18.899 --> 00:24:20.639 compassion and 00:24:20.639 --> 00:24:21.460 proclaims Jesus' 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.579 authority in 00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:23.059 the world. 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:24.960 So what 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:25.180 does that 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:25.680 look like? 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:26.500 Well, 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:26.879 it looks like 00:24:26.879 --> 00:24:27.220 being a 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:27.740 community where 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:28.420 we don't 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:29.279 ignore or 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:30.259 avoid people 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:31.180 when they 00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:31.759 get sick 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:32.539 or weak, 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:34.359 but instead 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:35.420 reach out to 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:36.420 them and 00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:37.160 touch them and 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:37.700 connect with 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:37.920 them. 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:39.519 A few weeks 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:40.839 ago, I had 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:41.299 the chance to 00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:42.899 visit a lady 00:24:42.899 --> 00:24:43.299 named Miss 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:43.660 Frances. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:45.139 Miss Frances 00:24:45.139 --> 00:24:45.779 is an elderly 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:46.480 member of this 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:46.799 church. 00:24:47.639 --> 00:24:48.460 Many of you 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:49.680 won't know her 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:50.139 because she 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:50.619 hasn't been able 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:51.079 to come to 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:52.119 church regularly 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:52.660 for a few 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:52.940 years. 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:53.660 She's lost 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:54.160 most of her 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:54.539 short-term 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:55.559 memory, and 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:56.000 she lives in 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.720 a care facility 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:57.299 full-time. 00:24:57.840 --> 00:24:58.620 When I arrived 00:24:58.620 --> 00:24:59.320 to visit her, 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:02.000 she recognized 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:03.600 me because 00:25:03.600 --> 00:25:04.299 I've been in 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:05.140 this church for 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:05.720 long enough that 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:06.620 she remembered 00:25:06.620 --> 00:25:08.519 me, and we 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:09.000 were walking 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:09.480 towards where 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:09.740 we were going 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:10.160 to sit down, 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:10.600 and she said 00:25:10.600 --> 00:25:11.000 to somebody 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.220 else, one of 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:12.740 the staff at 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:13.000 the place, 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:13.299 she said, 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:14.539 see, my 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:15.720 church hasn't 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:16.519 forgotten me. 00:25:17.820 --> 00:25:18.160 Now, you know, 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:18.840 she wasn't just 00:25:18.840 --> 00:25:19.640 talking about me 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:21.200 because I've only 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:21.840 been to visit her 00:25:21.840 --> 00:25:22.559 once or twice in 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:23.119 the last year, 00:25:23.819 --> 00:25:24.839 but there are 00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:25.919 one or two or 00:25:25.919 --> 00:25:26.619 more people from 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:27.980 this church who 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:28.839 have taken it 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:29.659 upon themselves to 00:25:29.659 --> 00:25:30.919 visit her regularly, 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.059 and she remembers 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:33.779 who they are. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:34.740 Even though she's 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:35.480 lost most of her 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:36.179 short-term memory, 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:37.200 she remembers the 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:37.960 people from church 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:38.799 who've come to 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:41.200 visit her, and she 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:42.279 said to me, my 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:43.379 church hasn't 00:25:43.379 --> 00:25:47.779 forgotten me, and 00:25:47.779 --> 00:25:48.679 it's a sign to her 00:25:48.679 --> 00:25:49.319 and to everybody 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:50.899 else around her 00:25:50.899 --> 00:25:52.980 that Jesus hasn't 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:53.599 forgotten her. 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:55.099 Right? 00:25:55.659 --> 00:25:56.519 Now, sometimes we 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:58.200 do this well, and 00:25:58.200 --> 00:25:58.859 sometimes we don't 00:25:58.859 --> 00:26:00.599 do this well, but 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:01.339 this is part of what 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:01.960 it looks like. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:03.679 A community where we 00:26:03.679 --> 00:26:04.460 reach out and 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:05.220 connect with people 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.980 when they're sick 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:07.379 or weak. 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:09.539 And second, a 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:10.119 community that 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:11.200 extends Jesus' 00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:12.299 compassionate touch 00:26:12.299 --> 00:26:13.240 to outsiders. 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:13.400 believers. 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:15.579 This leper was an 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:17.599 outsider back in 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:17.920 the day. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:20.740 He was somebody 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.720 that most religious 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:22.900 people didn't want 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:24.740 to deal with, because 00:26:24.740 --> 00:26:26.960 it was too messy, and 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.759 too complicated, and 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:30.079 too time-consuming, and 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.759 seemingly hopeless from 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:33.620 a human point of view, 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:34.599 but he's exactly the 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:35.319 kind of person that 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:37.160 Jesus touched. 00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:40.400 And so as followers of 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:41.720 Jesus, we're called to 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:44.440 touch others, to 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:45.400 engage with people 00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:46.500 who are broken, 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.259 needy, dirty, smelly, 00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:51.779 rejected, alone, sick, 00:26:52.100 --> 00:26:53.500 in the hospital, have 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:56.200 complicated issues, and 00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.440 are spiritual outsiders. 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:01.460 Now, there's a cost to 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:02.120 doing that. 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:04.240 Right? 00:27:04.299 --> 00:27:06.039 It costs time, and 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:07.640 energy, and money. 00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:09.299 Sometimes you get funny 00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:09.980 looks from people. 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:11.279 They say, why are you 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:13.379 hanging out with them? 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:15.500 Why did you invite them 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:16.720 to come along with us 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:18.879 when we were just going 00:27:18.879 --> 00:27:19.319 to hang out? 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:22.240 Right? 00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:25.559 That's what Jesus did. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.460 He invited us to come 00:27:28.460 --> 00:27:30.899 and be with him when we 00:27:30.899 --> 00:27:31.539 didn't deserve to. 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:34.180 Now, we can't do 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:34.559 everything. 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:37.180 We can't touch every 00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:38.980 single, lonely, isolated 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:39.920 person in this city. 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.940 We don't have the power 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:42.620 to fix people. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.620 Only Jesus does. 00:27:44.320 --> 00:27:45.340 Sometimes people aren't 00:27:45.340 --> 00:27:46.420 willing to be made 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:46.740 clean. 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:49.700 But, you know, we know 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:50.220 Jesus. 00:27:51.580 --> 00:27:52.940 He has the only cure 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:53.940 that really works. 00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:57.120 And so, let's extend 00:27:57.120 --> 00:27:58.259 his compassionate touch 00:27:58.259 --> 00:27:59.800 so that other people 00:27:59.800 --> 00:28:00.640 might experience that, 00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:01.400 his cleansing, 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:03.160 and being received into 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:04.840 his family, just as 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:05.660 each one of us have, 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:07.400 who have put our trust 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:07.680 in him. 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:09.240 Let's pray. 00:28:15.360 --> 00:28:16.440 Lord Jesus, we praise 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:18.480 you for your authority. 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:21.900 Lord, your power. 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:24.759 Lord, that you could 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:25.500 touch that man. 00:28:26.780 --> 00:28:27.800 That you can touch 00:28:27.800 --> 00:28:29.780 people today and make 00:28:29.780 --> 00:28:30.680 us clean. 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:35.180 Lord, not only physically 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:36.720 on the outside, 00:28:37.100 --> 00:28:38.220 but spiritually 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:39.640 on the inside. 00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:43.299 Lord Jesus, we thank 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:44.120 you for your compassion. 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:46.060 That you have paid the 00:28:46.060 --> 00:28:47.000 price on the cross. 00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:48.720 That we might be 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:49.680 cleansed of all our 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:50.460 sin and guilt. 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:51.600 That we might be 00:28:51.600 --> 00:28:52.420 received into your 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:52.820 family. 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:55.140 As people who belong 00:28:55.140 --> 00:28:55.600 to you. 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:57.220 And are loved and 00:28:57.220 --> 00:28:57.900 known by you. 00:28:57.900 --> 00:29:01.259 Lord, we pray that we 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:02.640 would, each of us, 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:04.240 recognize that we are 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:06.320 no different than this 00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:07.920 leper when we stand 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:08.480 before you. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:10.480 And we pray that 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:11.380 because we realize 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:13.440 that, and because we 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:14.680 have experienced 00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:15.600 your saving grace, 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:16.900 Lord, that we would 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:18.580 extend your touch 00:29:18.580 --> 00:29:19.720 to others. 00:29:21.100 --> 00:29:22.040 We pray this in your 00:29:22.040 --> 00:29:22.240 name. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:23.019 Amen.